Exploring Liverpool's flourishing Portuguese connection
Liverpool are making a habit of tapping into the Portuguese football market – and there are several very good reasons why.
Over the past week or so, there has been a lot of noise around Liverpool’s supposed interest in Matheus Nunes, the 23-year-old Sporting CP and Portugal central midfielder, valued at around €50m. Those reports, primarily from Lisbon-based publication Correio da Manhã, have naturally garnered plenty of attention given the desire among many Liverpool supporters to see the club strengthen the midfield department with a fresh addition this summer.
So far, no reliable Merseyside-based sources have corroborated such suggestions, and Jürgen Klopp has recently gone out of his way to emphasise why he feels Liverpool don’t need a new midfielder – although those comments should probably be taken with a hefty pinch of salt given the fact that only a few weeks ago, he was apparently very keen on signing Aurelien Tchouameni from Monaco before Real Madrid swooped in, and all the signs continually point towards Liverpool’s strong interest in Jude Bellingham.
Whether or not there is actually any truth in Liverpool planning a move for Nunes, it certainly makes sense that they’d be keeping close tabs on a player of his profile – and it further underlines a growing theme in Liverpool’s recruitment strategy which has become increasingly apparent over the past couple of years. That is, a clear focus on tapping into talent from Portugal.
In plucking Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez from Porto and Benfica respectively, Liverpool have already spent well in excess of £100m on buying arguably the two best players from the Primeira Liga this calendar year alone – an expenditure which could rise significantly when add-ons are taken into account. Prior to those two, Liverpool’s last major attacking signing was Diogo Jota, who kick-started his professional career at Paços de Ferreira and spent a year at Porto (on loan from Atletico Madrid) before ending up at Wolves. Fabio Carvalho, meanwhile, started out at Benfica’s academy before moving to London in 2013.
At this point, it feels like there’s more to this consistent pattern than pure coincidence, and there are several factors which can help explain why Liverpool’s Portuguese connections have proliferated in recent years. For starters, two of Liverpool’s most influential coaching figures have a wealth of experience working in Portuguese football. Prior to joining Liverpool in 2014, Pep Lijnders spent seven years working in a variety of coaching roles at Porto, working his way up the age rankings and playing an integral role in the restructuring of the club’s academy while overseeing the development of players like Joao Felix and Ruben Neves.
Vitor Matos, meanwhile, who joined Liverpool in October 2019 as an elite development coach, also undertook a formative part of his footballing education at Porto, firstly as an assistant coach for the various youth teams and then as an opposition scout for the U19s and Porto B team. Then there’s Julian Ward, Liverpool’s new sporting director, who worked as head of analysis and scouting for the Portuguese Football Federation from 2008-2010, and started his time at Liverpool as European scouting manager for Spain and Portugal.
Considering the amount of individual knowledge and network of close, long-standing relationships with Portuguese coaches and scouts between these three key figures, it follows that Liverpool have an exceptionally detailed insight into the Portuguese football system, and have the confidence to make bold moves in this particular market as they know they have the most comprehensive information possible. Not only will they be able to get first-hand reports on both the ability and personality of players like Diaz and Nunez, Liverpool also presumably have an advantage when it comes to smooth negotiations with the top Portuguese clubs – especially Porto, given the personal connections there.